Almost 35,000 single parents
have been waiting more than five years for the Child Support Agency
to resolve their claims, it has emerged.

New government figures underline
the extent of the beleaguered agency's problems and help to explain
why more than £3.5bn is owed in child support - overwhelmingly
to mothers.

The evidence, released in
response to a parliamentary question from the shadow work and pensions
secretary Chris Grayling, shows that 34,800 cases have been outstanding
for more than five years.

"These people are often
facing very challenging circumstances and it's a disgrace that the CSA
cannot sort this out in such a long period of time. The fact that this
might now change is absolutely no consolation to those people who have
been left high and dry for so long," said Mr Grayling.

Ministers scrapped the CSA
because it was judged to be beyond repair. But campaigners fear that
the simplified system replacing it - which will encourage parents to
reach their own arrangements, relying on the Child Maintenance and Enforcement
Commission to tackle the toughest cases - could prove equally flawed.

They are concerned that separating
couples may not be given sufficient help in drawing up agreements, and
that parents with care may struggle to get the help they need to pursue
non-payers. They are also worried about the amount of debt that will
be written off.

The Department of Work and
Pensions said the CSA has been tackling the cases and there were many
reasons why they had not been cleared, such as the refusal of non-resident
parents to pay up. In the past year 13,000 non-payers have had their
cases passed on to bailiffs or have been taken to court, with 400 receiving
immediate or suspended prison sentences.